The Nikon Coolpix S51 is the archetype of the almost ideal compact with its large 3 inch LCD, optical stabilization and a quite attractive design.  So is image quality up to par with the rest?

Handling

The CoolPix S51 is rather attractive and Nikon knew how to keep it simple.  There is a sober plastic body with slight curves and finishing touches are in good taste.  With its discreet interface (maybe too much so), controls are more suited for smaller fingers.  Luckily, there is still a pleasant dial for navigation.

A classic startup reveals the lens as well as a periscope zoom.  In this way, no components of the zoom protrude and the S51 remains discreet.  The backside of this compact has a large 3 inch black screen with a resolution of 230,000 pixels.  Display is detailed and very fluid; however, have a wipe ready as it quickly becomes covered with finger smudges.
We would have liked to have seen a wide angle zoom on this compact and actually the zoom’s 38 mm seems long enough for ‘’family use’’, for example. 

Finally, speed isn’t this little Nikon’s strong point.  You will have to wait 2.7 seconds to take two consecutive photos and startup needs more than a second.

Image quality

In low sensitivity, photos are satisfactory.  Precision is quite good and images show nice detail.  Indoors, white balance is a bit warm (slightly yellowish) under tungsten lighting.  Under natural light, color fidelity is better and exposure is often efficient.  Optical stabilization works wonderfully and we were able to shoot sharp photos at 1/2 s.  This allows avoiding higher sensitivities, an area where the Coolpix S51 isn’t too at ease.  From 200 ISO there is noise and beyond it increases significantly.


The macro mode is also deceiving as focus is at 15 cm when most manufacturers offer an average macro 5 cm.  Without being catastrophic, video also isn’t too extraordinary.